THROW ME ON THE BURNPILE AND LIGHT ME UP to be Presented by Round House Theatre

Round House Theatre is continuing its 2020-2021 Virtual Season with Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up by Oscar-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild writer Lucy Alibar. Directed by Round House Artistic Director Ryan Rilette and starring Beth Hylton, Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up is streaming online May 3 - May 30, 2021. Please see below for program details and ticket information.

Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up is a hilarious and heartfelt tale inspired by Lucy Alibar's (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Where the Crawdads Sing) own childhood with her pro-bono capital defense attorney father. Round House Artistic Director Ryan Rilette, a Louisiana native himself, will direct the one-person love letter to the South.

"One of the key ideas that drives our programming at Round House is to produce plays written by and about people who have historically been underrepresented or misrepresented, and Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up is no different," says Director Ryan Rilette. "White people from the South may not seem to fit that description, but rarely have rural poverty and the violence and fear that accompany it been seen on American stages with the clarity depicted here. 'Trash' is a word used throughout the play, in the classist derogatory sense of 'Southern white trash,' as a term given to the disadvantaged criminals the character of Daddy represents as a public defender, and in reference to the literal trash that is collected in a giant pile in the playwright's yard. As audiences watch Burnpile, we hope the production encourages conversations and reflection on the ways that we as a society discard those who have the least."

Beth Hylton (previously at Round House in Small Mouth Sounds, Handbagged) stars as Lamby, the fourth-grade raconteur and part-time legal secretary at the center of Alibar's semi-autobiographical story. Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up will be fully staged and filmed at Round House Theatre following COVID-19 safety procedures. The performance will be streamed online May 3 - May 30, 2021.

The actor and director are joined by a creative team that includes dramaturg and Round House Associate Artist - Literary and New Works Naysan Mojgani, production stage manager Che Wernsman, scenic designer and Round House Theatre Resident Artist Paige Hathaway, costume designer and Round House Theatre Resident Artist Ivania Stack, lighting designer Harold F. Burgess II, sound designer Matthew Nielson, props master Kasey Hendricks, and director of photography and Round House Theatre Resident Artist Maboud Ebrahimzadeh.

Tickets are available now. For more production information, including full creative team bios, please visit RoundHouseTheatre.org/Throw-Me-on-the-Burnpile-and-Light-Me-Up

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up

By Lucy Alibar

Directed by Ryan Rilette

MAY 3 - MAY 30, 2021

A small farmhouse on a watermelon field may not seem like much, but for one little girl, it's where magic happens. It's where her father runs with her every morning, plays Sam Cooke on the radio, and defends death row inmates who have no one else to stand up for them. Oscar-nominated author Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild) presents an unforgettable story about her childhood as a fourth grader and part-time legal secretary. Told through a series of heartfelt and irreverent vignettes, Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up is a one-woman love letter to family, the South, and the belief that everyone deserves a defender.

To post a comment, you must register and login.